Pieces
by routavaurio
Summary: Yugi Mutou had no idea what the puzzle he had worked so hard to finish truly held within. But when he finally figured it out, it was the start of a rather strange friendship. A series of one-shots focusing on the friendship between Yugi and his other self.
1. Identity

******EDIT: I decided to combine this and _Monologue _and then continue this as a series of one-shots, as you can see. I don't know if I should have just created a new story altogether but meh, I'm doing it like this so deal with it.**

**All of the one-shots are going to be manga-based. The cover art is done by me.**

**This one is set right after the iron plate hockey Shadow Game.**

**WARNINGS: Contains mentions of setting a guy on fire, meandering, slightly fragmented thoughts of a not yet quite sane spirit, a very passing mention to Peachshipping, and possibly bad grammar and/or spelling errors (English is not my first language).**

**Summary: He was Yugi Mutou, yet he wasn't. The Other Yugi contemplates his existence, his identity, and his role while walking home from his latest Shadow Game.**

* * *

**Identity**

He didn't look back when he walked away from the screams. He had already seen the burning body writhing on the ground, screaming like there was no tomorrow. The smell of charred flesh pushed aside the crisp night air. He kept walking briskly towards the street that stretched beside the school. The explosion must have attracted attention. The fire department might be there soon. The burning boy might still be saved, or he might not. Most likely not.

He didn't care. It had been a deserved punishment. Nobody trod down the soul of Yugi Mutou and got away with it.

It was funny how many people seemed to think they could.

He supposed it was because Yugi made it so easy. Yugi was simply too kind to fight back. His appearance didn't help either. Yugi was skinny and short enough to pass for a ten-year-old even though he was in high school. And about a fifth of his height consisted of wild, spiky hair. That also made it easy for people to underestimate _him_ as well.

It was always fun when they laughed at him, thinking they had the upper hand. Then breaking them was all the more sweeter. Then the punishment was all the more crushing.

He rounded a corner and kept heading home, hands in his pockets. Street lights dotted the pavement, brushing against his face and making the shadows around him hiss. He felt the other consciousness stir within the back of his mind. Yugi Mutou was waking up. Quickly, with gentleness he didn't even know he possessed, he soothed the innocent soul back to sleep.

_Not yet_, he told the boy, _you don't need to see this._

The young one drifted back to the world of dreams, but it wouldn't take long until he would wake again. He needed to pick up the pace. Besides, the farther away he was from the school when the police arrived the better.

He had left no evidence that would point to him. Everything he had touched had been either wiped clean of fingerprints or now burning in the chemical-induced fire. It would look like a tragic accident involving a hot iron plate and a careless young _okonomiyaki _maker. Nobody would connect the incident to innocent Yugi Mutou. There was no way Yugi Mutou would be capable of murder or revenge.

Yugi wasn't.

But _he _was.

When it was justified. When someone crossed Yugi Mutou. Because anyone who crossed Yugi also crossed him.

Because he was Yugi Mutou. Yet he wasn't.

He knew the innocent soul he shared a body with couldn't be the same person as he was. Yugi was kind, endlessly forgiving, and abhorred violence. Yugi was timid and let others walk over him. Most people called it weakness, and he could have so easily agreed. He wasn't sure why he didn't.

In any case, he wasn't like Yugi.

Yugi was innocent. He was the sinner.

Yugi couldn't – _wouldn't_ – protect himself. So he would do it for him, whether Yugi knew about it or not.

Home was dark and silent when he got back. Yugi's home. His home. He knew it was his, yet he didn't feel the attachment he supposed should go with the knowledge. It was the same with everyone Yugi knew. He knew Yugi loved his family. He knew Yugi was very attached to his friends. He knew Yugi had a very special place in his heart for one Anzu Mazaki. So he also chose to feel that way towards them, even though the feelings weren't his own.

He would protect Yugi's loved ones. Because if they were hurt, Yugi would be hurt as well.

Then there were the memories that were passed from Yugi to him. He hadn't lived any of them, but he still remembered them, and he chose to cling to them.

Because he had none of his own. Nothing but darkness.

He supposed he could be another part of Yugi. A hidden part. One that was too separate from the innocence to fit into the same soul.

No, not quite separate.

He felt the link between them. It was the link that always signalled him of Yugi's distress and brought him forth. It was the link that leaked memories that were his yet weren't into his mind. It was the link that had created the corridor that connected his and Yugi's soul rooms together.

It all made sense, yet it didn't.

Because he also knew that he had come from the Millennium Puzzle. How could he forget? He didn't know how long he had spent inside it. Trapped. Captive. For too long, was his estimate. For too long had there been nothing but darkness. Darkness and shadows that tore at his sanity until he had shattered. He had many times been so close to losing himself completely, to becoming like one of the shadows. But he had pulled himself back every time. Because he had known he had been waiting for something.

Then there had been light.

Yugi Mutou had spent eight years trying to solve the Puzzle. And to free him. Yugi had never given up. Yugi had called him forth without even knowing it. Without knowing he even existed. And he had answered the call, drawn to the light like a moth. He had trashed in his prison, clawing, kicking, screaming, begging to be freed, knowing all the time that he couldn't be heard yet.

Then, with one last _click_, he had been free.

Free to protect the one who had saved him.

He walked with soft, quiet steps back into Yugi's room. The clothes he had put on had been the same that Yugi had worn during the day. No one would realize they were a bit dirtier than they had been this evening. He changed to the nightclothes Yugi had worn before going to bed. He washed his hands and face, checking the mirror to see that there were no signs of his nightly escapade. A face that was his yet wasn't looked back. No new cuts or bruises. Good. Yugi didn't need to know. Yugi would just be upset. Yugi would just feel guilty about it.

He didn't like seeing Yugi upset. Or hurt.

It wasn't just because Yugi hurting meant him hurting as well. It wasn't just because he was indebted to Yugi for freeing him. He didn't know what exactly it was.

Maybe it was just the fact that Yugi kept the worst of the shadows at bay.

Yugi kept him clinging to what little sanity he had salvaged from the darkness.

He sat on his bed and slipped under the covers. Only then did he let Yugi back in control. He felt the body relaxing when a sleeping soul took over. The bedroom disappeared and he was back in the labyrinth of his own mind.

He sat down on a set of stairs that were kind enough to obey the laws of physics. Most of the paths and stairs in his room didn't feel like doing that. He had appeared close to the door that led to the hallway between his and Yugi's rooms. He had looked into the corridor several times, but he had never been to Yugi's room.

He didn't feel like he had the right to go there.

It wasn't his room. It was one of the few things that belonged to Yugi that he was certain didn't belong to him as well.

Of the other things he wasn't quite so sure.

If he was also Yugi Mutou, didn't that mean he was just as much entitled to live his life?

Then why did he freely agree to take a back seat whenever there was no danger?

Maybe because something whispered to him that it really _wasn't _his life after all.

He certainly had no problems betting his life in his games, even when he knew it would also cost the innocent side his life if he lost.

But that was just one more reason to _never lose_.

His victory was Yugi's victory. His loss would be Yugi's loss.

Because he was also Yugi Mutou.

He silenced a little voice in his mind that told him it wasn't true.

Because if he _wasn't _Yugi Mutou, then who was he?

* * *

**Author's Note: I've never watched Yu-Gi-Oh! Well, except for a few episodes of Season 0. I have read most of the manga, though. I don't know... I just felt like writing a sort of character study-ish thing about the more homicidal Pharaoh. I'm sure someone has done it better but this is my version anyway. I wasn't going to actually post this but then I figured, what the heck, I quite like it even though I also feel it's not that great. Gah! I'm confusing myself! Tell me what you think, maybe?**

**Also, an Anonymous reviewer pointed out to me that I probably shouldn't use Japanese terms in my fics. Yes, I agree, and I was never actually going to use them. Except if it's a name or something like food or a very traditional thing that doesn't have a proper translation. Like _okonomiyaki _in this one (it's a pancake-like food that can have various ingredients in it, sort of like toppings. I've never tried it myself).**


	2. Monologue

**Manga-based. Set after the Monster Fight -Shadow Game and references it.**

**Summary: After a Shadow Game, Yugi questions his sanity and his other self. Good thing he doesn't have to be alone with his confusion. Or is it? The conversations with his other self weren't quite so comforting back in the beginning of their partnership.**

* * *

**Monologue**

It wasn't supposed to have gone like this.

Now that Yugi thought about it, what _had _he expected to happen when he had willingly walked into a game with that Monster Fighter -thief? When he had let his other self take control? He had known his other self would punish the thief, sure. And Yugi had _wanted_ to stop the thief. But if he had known it would end with the thief hospitalized because of nearly being killed by sheer psychological trauma and with very slim chances of recovering... It had certainly made him think.

Had the thief even deserved to be punished? Well, yes. That was plain and simple. But not like this.

Yugi sat on his bed, the golden pyramid that usually sat around his neck now in his hands. He turned it over and over as if it was an ancient Egyptian stress reliever. Except it mostly had the opposite effect. Because he knew the pyramid, the Millennium Puzzle, had started it all. Before he had solved it, he certainly hadn't had to worry about sudden blackouts or news of people who had bullied him being mysteriously driven insane. Or sometimes killed.

Yugi wasn't sure which was worse.

He was sure, however, that he could never wish any of those fates on anyone.

Could he?

It was him who had dealt those punishments, after all. The other him. The one Yugi had only recently discovered. The one that lived in that corner of Yugi's mind he didn't dare enter. The one that was like a stranger in one of those dark alleys you didn't want anything to do with. The fact that said alley was in his own mind was a frightening thought.

Had he at some point gone mad without even realizing it?

Yugi was sure that the alley hadn't always been there. Sometimes he wished it was all just some strange dream that had been caused by his years of obsessive gaming and puzzle-solving.

But it wasn't. He knew that because when he focused hard enough, he could sense the presence of the other him. It was dark and almost tangible. Sometimes it could be comforting, but whenever Yugi thought about it enough, it started to frighten him. This was one of those moments. But whether he liked it or not, it was always, _always _there, even when he tried to convince himself it wasn't real.

He could sense him even now.

"I wish you wouldn't have done that," he said out loud.

And his stomach lurched when he imagined a dark, ethereal voice answer: _He deserved it._

The other him didn't really talk to him with actual words, but Yugi could still sense his feelings. Sometimes they were clear enough to form sentences in Yugi's mind. Yugi had never really held a long "conversation" with him. In the beginning it used to make him feel like he really was slipping down the slope to insanity. Not to mention there was something very unhinged about his other self even in his nicer moments. His other self had slid all the way down the insanity-slope even before they had met.

Now, however, he kept talking. He wasn't sure why.

"No, he didn't," he said, "He was just a bully and a thief. Bullies deserve detention, or... or community service. Not... what happened."

The voice in his head snorted almost condescendingly.

_He stole from others. He hurt others. He hurt _you_. He deserved to be shown what he really was. That is the nature of the Shadow Games._

Yugi shivered. He had always loved games. But the games his other self played made him question the innocence of his lifelong hobby. His other self's games weren't fun. They were twisted and wrong. They were games that ended with someone in a mental hospital or poisoned. Or set on fire.

"Who are you?" Yugi asked.

Because the voice couldn't possibly be Yugi. Could it?

There was a long silence, hesitant and uncomfortable. It was as if the voice hadn't expected to hear that question. Yugi felt a cool breeze travelling through his room, making him shudder again. It took him a moment to realize that the only window in his room was firmly closed.

_I am the other you._

The voice wasn't quite as overly confident as it usually was.

"So..." Yugi rubbed his arms to keep warmer, to keep the fear away, "So you are me?"

A silent, soft sigh brushed his mind.

_I didn't say that. _Pause. _If you are blaming yourself for my Penalty Games, don't bother. They are my games, not yours._

Except they were also Yugi's games. Yugi had been present, even though he couldn't remember most of them. And today's Shadow Game – as his other self called them – was much clearer in his mind than any other.

Sometimes the other him was merciful, giving penalties that would probably even help the victim in the long run. Today's game... wouldn't.

"He isn't going to make it, is he?" Yugi asked.

_Most likely not,_ the voice mused, _I crushed his soul. He will probably be diagnosed with a heart attack, and-_

"Stop!" Yugi shouted and then clapped his hand over his mouth.

Everything went still. The room suddenly felt stuffy like a tomb. Yugi listened if his mother had heard his outburst. His mother didn't shout, didn't ask if Yugi was okay. She hadn't heard. Yugi relaxed, but only a little bit.

He felt someone sitting on the bed behind him. The bed didn't give way to any added weight. But his other self was there, nonetheless, hovering over Yugi's shoulder. Yugi didn't turn to look. Not yet.

_If you are so dissatisfied with what I did,_ the voice was getting irritated, _then why did you ask for my help?_

Yugi stiffened, his hands dropping to his lap. Why indeed?

"I... Because I..." he had to stop to gather his thoughts, "Because stealing is wrong. And I knew I had to do _something_. I couldn't do it alone."

_I see. But you could have asked help from some of your other friends._

Yes. Yugi could have. Jounouchi and Honda would have gladly beaten the thief up. Yugi couldn't say he approved of that either. But at least it would have been less harmful than what his other self had done.

"I didn't want to get anyone else into trouble."

The presence behind him shifted. Yugi gathered his courage and looked over his shoulder. There was nothing there.

_Is that also why you just take every beating the lowlifes of this city decide to give you?_

Yugi shook his head.

"I hate violence."

_So you don't fight back. But today you wanted to._

"I didn't want to hurt him!"

The voice was silent for a moment. Then: _No, you didn't. But I did._

The presence was back. So close that Yugi should have heard breathing had there really been a person there. He heard nothing. But he felt something. Darkness. Sorrow. Loneliness. All that and more concentrated into something Yugi could almost touch. Something with an almost real voice. Maybe even a face. One Yugi just hadn't seen yet.

Yugi felt strangely hollow. Like someone had removed most of his insides but left his heart that now beat much faster than normal. It reminded him of his grandfather's texts on how the Egyptians had mummified their dead. How they had taken away the organs and put them in jars, leaving the heart because it housed the soul...

"I thought you were getting nicer," he said, "After you helped us in Death-T..."

He sighed.

"Who are you?" he asked again.

He could imagine a shadowy figure tilting its head.

_I told you: I am the other you. I suppose I am Yugi Mutou, since that is what you are called. If you don't like that, I suppose you can give me another name._

No. He couldn't be Yugi. Because he was everything Yugi was not. The other him was confident and proud. Yugi could sense it even without ever meeting him face to face. Yugi was timid and humble. Yugi was weak. The other him was strong. Yugi hated the idea of hurting others, whereas the other him seemed to actually get some deranged enjoyment out of his punishments. Yugi was a gamer. The other him was a gambler. A gambler who set the stakes frighteningly high.

The presence was even closer now, tentatively approaching. It felt pointless, seeing how they shared a body and were therefore inseparable by default. But it also felt a bit more real. Like talking to someone who wasn't a part of him. Someone who might have actually been a person instead of a case of dissociative identity disorder.

_Are you afraid of me?_

The voice was almost remorseful. Almost sad.

"Yes," Yugi admitted quietly.

Silence.

_I swear I won't hurt you. I want to protect you._

That was the thing. The thing that scared Yugi the most. Because he _knew _his other self was telling the truth and would always protect him. That desire to protect was what made him cross so many lines.

"Why?" Yugi asked.

It felt like a stupid question, but one that he needed to ask anyway.

_Because I care about you._

And that desire to protect was also the thing that proved Yugi that his other self wasn't _bad_. That he wasn't completely lost. That he cared. And Yugi found himself caring about his other self too.

_Don't worry. I know what I'm doing._

It certainly felt that way. Yugi knew his other self had never lost any of his games. And most of them he had just thought up on the spot, sometimes while nimbly dodging the fists of gangsters. It was all very impressive, in a rather sick way. Yugi hadn't even known his tiny body could accomplish such feats. Whatever game his other self picked, he excelled at it. Much like Yugi himself. The thing was, that Yugi never bet his own life in anything.

"What if you lost?"

He could again sense his other self's irritation.

_I haven't lost._

"But everyone loses sometimes."

Yugi clenched his fingers around the Puzzle when he felt waves of anger hitting his back.

_I can't lose._

"How are you so sure?"

_Because I _can't_. Because if I did, we would both pay the price._

And that was another one of the reasons Yugi was so afraid. Not to mention what always seemed to happen when his other self _won_.

People weren't safe around Yugi any longer. At least not if they decided to try to hurt him.

Was his other self really just another side of him? Or was he something – _someone –_ else? Yugi didn't know which was better.

Yugi looked behind him again, clutching the Puzzle to his chest. For the briefest moment he thought he saw someone there. Or then it was just his own reflection in the mirror next to his bed.

"Did you come from the Puzzle?" he asked.

_Yes._

If he had come from the Puzzle, he couldn't possibly be just a part of Yugi, right? Yugi wanted to believe that. He tried to shut out the thought that told him that the voice could just be his own imagination and would therefore give him an answer he found the most comforting. The thought still persisted in his mind. Yugi started to regret reading those psychology books.

"I don't want you to hurt anyone," Yugi said, "Please, not like that."

There was an eerie silence again. The presence brushed Yugi's shoulder as if trying to make a comforting gesture but then deciding against it. Yugi shivered again.

_Very well, if that's what you wish. I will do my best._

It wasn't really a promise. The presence disappeared, returning to the dark alleys of Yugi's mind. Yugi sat on his bed, the sharp corners of the Puzzle digging into his palms and chest. When he finally relaxed, he started to wonder if it really had been a conversation either.

One thing he knew for sure, though, was that he had made a very powerful friend.

* * *

**Author's Note: Uh... I wanted to write about friendship? And Yu-Gi-Oh! is about friendship, right? So yes, this weird one-shot is supposed to be a friendship moment (and sort of a character study of these two in a darker light). Hey, does someone want me to write more friendship fluff? *cricket chirp* ...so no? Okay.**

**I think the Monster Fight -Shadow Game in the manga was delightfully disturbed. By the way, I don't think the dude survived it. Also I was fascinated by the fact that Yugi, usually so sweet, innocent, and forever forgiving, deliberately unleashed Atem on that Monster Fighter -thief (at least that's how I saw it) even though I'm sure he already knew at that point that Atem would at least severely mind-screw the guy.**

**I actually don't think this quite fits in canon because I don't think Yugi and the Pharaoh had this interactive of a conversation before they first actually saw each other, but... hey, it's fanfiction. At least I tried to keep it so that Yugi didn't see his other self's face before the first Shadow-RPG with Bakura.**

**This fic is a good example of how I like writing dialogue: sort of jumping all over the place because the characters don't say nearly everything they think out loud. I don't know if that's a good thing or not. At least in this one it was sort of held together by Yugi's thoughts I guess. Wait... why am I reviewing my own story?**


	3. Evil

**Set after Duelist Kingdom.**

**Summary: Now that he knew he was a person, being called evil suddenly hurt.**

* * *

**Evil**

He lay on stone floor that probably would have been cold had it existed in the physical world. He kept his eyes closed and listened to the merry chatter of the group of friends that surrounded him. Despite their evident cheerfulness, they sounded tired. No wonder. They had been through quite a lot in the last few days in Duelist Kingdom. Card games with too high stakes... Soul-stealing millionaires... It would probably take more than one good night's sleep to recover from it. For them, at least. As for him, well, he couldn't really call his rest "sleeping". He doubted disembodied consciousnesses were even capable of sleep the way people were.

Still, he tried. For the first time in a long while, he really tried. The best he could manage was a strange state of floating where he disconnected himself from his reality and let his mind wander. It was more like a contemplative coma, if such a thing existed. He slipped into it, still passively hearing the conversation that was going on between Yugi and the others. They were holding a sort of get-together at the living quarters of Grandpa Mutou's game shop. The place had been chosen mostly because Yugi didn't want to leave his grandpa alone for too long. The old man had recovered his stolen soul just the day before, after all. At Grandpa's age one didn't just jump back up with no repercussions after being in a coma for a few days.

Yugi and his friends burst into laughter. Jounouchi had told some joke that hadn't quite reached the labyrinthine soul room. He could have blocked the sounds out completely, sunk even deeper into his coma, but he decided not to. The sounds were soothing. They grounded him and drowned out the shadows that sometimes still tried to call him back under. His mind was a place where it was easy to get lost in even while standing still. Even for him, if there was nothing to anchor him or he wasn't paying attention. Besides, it was nice to feel he wasn't alone. It was nice to know he was surrounded by people who cared about him. Even though he probably didn't deserve it.

Friends.

So much had changed in Duelist Kingdom. Now that word actually carried some weight to him personally. A lot of things did, now that he realized that he actually was a person.

He was not Yugi Mutou.

That he knew for sure now.

That put him on kind of a shaky ground in identity matters.

It had started when Yugi had stopped him from killing. For the first time Yugi had truly broken through his control. And then Pegasus had gone and told them of the evil consciousness residing in the Millennium Puzzle.

Pegasus had known. He had known all along.

He snarled silently at the memory of Pegasus. _Pegasus _had been the one who had put them through all this. Put _Yugi_ through all this just to get the Puzzle for himself. Oh, how he had wanted to punish the man for everything he had done. He had wanted to break – _shatter_ – that flamboyant, smug spirit and shut the man up for good. He had had the opportunity, and according to the rules of the Shadow Games, he had had the right as well.

But he hadn't done it.

He wasn't sure why being called evil had stung so badly. He knew he wasn't good. Not in the sense Yugi and his friends were. It hadn't bothered him before. He had just assumed it was his role. He had been the dark side of the innocent little Yugi. The one with shadows whispering in his head. His duty had been to protect Yugi and to punish those who did bad things. But now that he knew he wasn't just that, it suddenly mattered. So he hadn't punished Pegasus. And it hadn't been just because he had hated the man and had wanted to prove him wrong. To prove that he wasn't evil.

It didn't matter much now for Pegasus, though, seeing how the man was dead anyway. Someone had killed the man and ripped out his Millennium Eye. Or possibly killed the man _by _ripping out his eye. The news had made Yugi and others cringe and feel sad and worried. The spirit of the Puzzle had used their time of silent grief to feel bad for entertaining thoughts of inflicting a rather similar fate for Mr. Pegasus when he had briefly considered punishing him.

He wanted to convince himself that he was better than whoever it was that had actually gone through with it.

Evil felt like such a strong word. It was more than _crooked_ or _bad_. Evil people abused their power over others. They enjoyed tormenting others. He... well, if he was completely honest, he had probably enjoyed his penalties just a little too much in the beginning. In his darkest moments remembering them still made him smile with twisted satisfaction. And even in his best moments he couldn't bring himself to regret them.

Except when Yugi started to regret them.

Why did he have to have been freed by the purest, most innocent high school student in existence? With natural puppy dog eyes that gave even the actual puppies a run for their money?

He almost slapped himself at the thought. He had chosen Yugi himself. Yugi wouldn't have solved the Puzzle if he hadn't. And he knew he would never regret his choice.

So maybe he really wasn't evil. A truly evil person wouldn't have chosen someone so innocent, right? A truly evil person wouldn't care about anyone the way he cared about Yugi.

So no, he wasn't evil. He was maybe a little bad and more than a little crooked at worst.

Jounouchi's voice broke him out of his thoughts.

"_Hey, is the other Yugi doing alright?"_

He opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling that was so high it was unclear whether it really was there or not.

"_He's sleeping, I think,"_ came Yugi's reply, _"No, wait, he's waking up."_

"_How is he?" _asked a feminine voice that could only belong to Anzu Mazaki.

"_He's fine," _Yugi assured, _"We've been talking a lot after we got back. He's really nice."_

He blinked. Nice? That was an adjective he would never use to describe himself. But he could agree that they had been talking a lot. The conversations had become considerably less awkward now that Yugi had learned to properly communicate with the presence in his head. The first conversations had been mostly about laying some ground rules. Most of them had been his own idea, actually. He had freely agreed not to possess Yugi without the other's consent. He had promised to stop punishing people the way he had before. He had promised not to initiate games where lives were at stake. Now that he was sure Yugi's life wasn't his as well, all those things had just felt wrong anyway. The fact that the spirit had proposed those rules himself had pleased Yugi a lot. It seemed that Yugi wasn't afraid of him any more. It was a comforting thought. He didn't want Yugi to fear him. It was one of the last things in the world he wanted, yet so far he had had to accept it. Because he hadn't really deserved not to be feared.

It had taken Yugi openly screaming at his friends how much he was afraid of his other self that it had really clicked.

He had known it before, but only now did he realize _why_.

Yugi didn't fear for himself. He was afraid of what happened to the people around him.

He had never truly understood that, even though he guessed he had known it somewhere deep down.

"_Do you guys want to talk to him?" _Yugi was asking, _"Get to know him better now that there's no immediate crisis we should be dealing with?"_

There were chuckles and affirmative mumbles somewhere outside.

"_Other Me?" _Yugi called, _"Do you want to come out?"_

He sat up slowly, looking at his knees.

"I don't wish to intrude," he said to the empty room.

"_Oh, come on! They're your friends too!"_

They were, weren't they? Before they had been his friends simply because they had been Yugi's friends. Now, though, he wasn't Yugi any more. With the realization he had started to make some observations of his own more freely. Yugi's best friend Jounouchi was fun and trustworthy, but also loud and sometimes extremely irresponsible, as was Jounouchi's old pal Honda. The quiet Bakura was nice enough, but he had been affected by the evil spirit in the Millennium Ring. The boy put on a brave face – in his own, timid way at least – but the spirit of the Ring had caused far deeper scars than the others could guess.

Evil. There it was again.

Anzu Mazaki was kind and knew Yugi better than the others, but she was still rather blind to the obvious affection Yugi harboured towards her. That annoyed the spirit, especially since for some reason Anzu seemed to be rather interested in _him_. The Other Yugi. Who wasn't really Yugi at all and who could list several reasons why no one should be interested in him. It was all part of the drama of being a teenager, he supposed. It felt very alien to him. His form may have been that of a teenager as well, but his spirit was far older. How much older, he didn't know, but he did know that he had been trapped in the darkness for much longer than his new friends had lived. He wondered if he had ever had to go through the drama phase. Or if he had ever been anything more than a spirit to begin with.

Yugi stepped aside, letting him in control of their shared body. He was suddenly in Grandpa's living room, sitting on a couch and facing Jounouchi, Anzu, Honda, and Bakura. He greeted them all with a simple "Hi", and the others responded.

He crossed one leg over the other and folded his arms, leaning back in his seat. The couch was rather comfortable. He hadn't sat on it often in physical form, so he might as well enjoy the opportunity.

"How've you been doing?" asked Jounouchi, "In... you know, where _do_ you go when you're not here?"

"I go into my mind," he replied, "It isn't quite as lonely as it sounds. I can hear and see what happens around Yugi if I want to. And yes, I'm fine."

"Oh, that's cool," said Honda.

"But you can stop listening if you want?" Jounouchi asked, "Man, I wish I could do that when I'm at school and the class gets boring."

"I think you're actually very good at that, Jounouchi" Anzu remarked, "You do it way more often than you should."

"Hey!" Jounouchi looked at her indignantly, "I do pay attention when it matters! Yesterday I was all ears in history."

"You slept throughout the entire class," the spirit said, "I'm surprised the teacher didn't hear the snoring."

Jounouchi glared at him, but it wasn't a bad kind of glare. Anzu started to laugh. Inside his own mind, Yugi was laughing too.

It felt a bit strange to be talking about such mundane things. The spirit leaned further back and let his head rest on the cushions. The living room's ceiling was very visible and white. When the conversation turned to other things and more laughing was involved and Yugi's mirth washed over him, he realized that he was very close to feeling what most people probably considered normal.

The shadows in his mind weren't quite so thick any more.

Maybe it would all make sense one day. Maybe he would know who he really was.

Maybe right now it was enough to know that there were people he could care about.

And maybe, just maybe, he wasn't all that bad after all.

* * *

**Author's Note: I don't know what it tells about me as a person, but writing from an unstable person's point of view is very much fun for me. It's not easy, but it's interesting. I swear I'll try to make things actually happen more in the next one. This one is sort of deliberately similar in style to ****_Identity_****, to try to illustrate the gradual change in the Pharaoh's thinking when he's slowly getting a bit less insane as well as more of an individual. Not sure how I did with that and I hope this repetitiveness doesn't take too much out of what little enjoyment you manage to get while reading this...**

**I copied the reviews on _Monologue _and posted them as a collection of reviews in the review section because I don't like removing other people's comments.**


	4. Chain

**Set after Duelist Kingdom and before D.D.D.**

**Summary: A carefree Sunday in an arcade makes Yugi think about how much has changed since he first met his other self.**

* * *

**Chain**

_Are you seriously going to wear your school uniform on a Sunday again?_

Yugi looked up, one arm already in the dark blue sleeve of his school jacket. His other self's voice echoed in his head, amusement mixed with disappointment.

"Well, yes," he said, "That's why I'm putting it on now."

There was a sigh in his head, but no arguments. Yugi put the jacket on, glancing at the mirror on his wall. Most people in his class were delighted when they could ditch their matching uniforms for the weekend and wear what they wanted. Yugi didn't care that much. He was usually more at ease wearing something that didn't stand out. His multicoloured, spiky hair did enough standing out without any help. Besides, he _liked _his uniform. It was comfortable and had a nice colour. Yugi had always liked dark clothes and not just because they helped him hide in a shadowy corner if he was being chased by bullies.

He picked up the golden pyramid-shaped Puzzle from his desk and put it in its place around his neck. The old woven cord it was hanging on was getting worn-out, but was still in miraculous condition seeing how ancient the cord must have been. To be honest it had broken several times, luckily always from the same spot. A small but very firm knot had so far fixed that problem. The Puzzle settled against Yugi's stomach, and he instantly felt a bit more confident. The Puzzle was the only physical link between him and his other self. Yugi couldn't imagine leaving it behind.

It felt almost strange to think that at some point he had been terrified of the Other Him. And then when he thought about it, it didn't feel strange at all.

His other self had come a long way from the downright insane vigilante he had been in the beginning, but Yugi knew the spirit wasn't quite all there yet. There were still times Yugi could sense his other self struggling against the frightening lust for punishment and vengeance when they witnessed cruelty against the innocent. And sometimes when Yugi talked to the spirit face to face, he could see through the smiles and natural confidence and knew that underneath it all there was a sanity that was still full of cracks. Sometimes Yugi wondered if _he _was the only thing keeping the spirit together.

The spirit was still mostly an enigma, even to himself. But it was comforting to know there was an actual person behind all that strange power he wielded. Even if they didn't yet know _who _that person was. Yugi knew it bothered the spirit. Why wouldn't it? Yugi was sure he would also be frustrated if he knew nothing about himself. His other self had mostly been quiet about it after Duelist Kingdom. Yugi supposed the spirit didn't want to bother him with it, and it annoyed him at times. Friends were supposed to share each other's worries and support each other, weren't they? As much as the Other Him seemed to value friendship, some of its finer points still occasionally escaped him.

But still, something had changed after Duelist Kingdom. A lot of things, in fact. Instead of being a stranger lurking in Yugi's mind, the Other Him had become a sort of a very close next-door-neighbour who might have been a touch crazy but to whom it was immensely easy to talk to and whose mere presence was enough to make Yugi feel stronger.

_Are we going into town? _the Other Him suddenly asked, breaking Yugi out of his thoughts.

"Yup," he answered, "Didn't you know? I've been planning it since yesterday."

_I don't spy on your every thought, Partner. I had other things on my mind._

The way he said it suggested it had been another one of his more depressive episodes. Yugi couldn't help feeling guilty for not noticing it. In his defence, though, his other self seemed to be a master of stealthy angst when he felt like it. Yugi hoped a day outside would make the spirit feel better. He knew _he_ could certainly use the fresh air. Yugi had spent most of his time after school helping Grandpa at the game shop and had had practically no free time all week. He stepped into his sneakers and shouted a cheery "I'll be back for dinner" at his mother before going outside.

It was a particularly nice day. The sky was blue and the sun was shining warmly enough to have lured more people outside than what was usual for Sundays around this time of the year. Yugi almost instinctively tried to make himself smaller in the crowd when he passed by some people he thought he recognized to be a part of some local gang. The fact that he was already short enough to pass for an elementary school kid didn't seem to be enough to make him invisible to bullies. Most bullies had lately been smart enough to stay far away from him, but the instinct to hide still stuck.

He didn't really have any plans for the day. He settled for rather aimless wandering that would most likely at some point bring him to his favourite arcade that was open even on Sundays. He usually tended to end up there whenever he went for a walk. He was sure the Other Him wouldn't mind. His other self was just as much of a game addict as he was.

_The arcade sounds like fun._

Yugi almost jumped out of his skin.

"Other Me!" he tried to shout and whisper at the same time to avoid drawing too many weird looks. It didn't work, "You startled me!"

_Sorry_, the Other Him chuckled and didn't sound sorry at all, _At least I got you to look up. There's nothing to hide from here, Partner._

Yugi felt heat rising onto his cheeks out of embarrassment. So the spirit had noticed his subconscious attempts at hiding from the world.

"Force of habit," he mumbled, "I saw some bullies."

He felt a sting of sympathy that wasn't his own.

"I'm fine, though," he was quick to add, "Don't worry."

He was not going to let this day go to too depressing directions. They were supposed to be having fun!

Yugi rounded a corner to a busy street where a large department store was attracting an army of Sunday shoppers. He manoeuvred his way through the throng and was almost past the worst of it when a sharp tug at the back of his mind signalled him that something had caught his other self's attention.

"What is it?" he asked quietly and looked to the side where he knew the Other Him was looking too.

They had stopped by a store window that was decorated with fake police tape. The store the window belonged to was one Yugi had occasionally even bought something from. It was largely thanks to this particular store that Yugi had ended up with so much leather and buckles in his wardrobe. They sold the kind of clothes that might have made some sort of a rebellious statement if worn by someone other than Yugi. On Yugi they were just clothes he happened to like.

_Nice belt_, the Other Him said and made a mental nod towards a faceless mannequin in the window.

Yugi raised a brow. The belt in question had two rows of spike-like studs on it. His other self's taste in clothing was wilder than his own. Then again, his other self also had the personality to pull it off.

"That belt looks like it's designed to injure people," Yugi said, "Plus it wouldn't suit me at all."

_What makes you think so?_

"I just know it."

_You have no taste. That would explain why you still hold onto those sneakers even when you own a perfectly good pair of boots._

Yugi rolled his eyes at his other self's teasing and started walking again, deliberately ignoring the spirit's half-hearted protests. A few passers-by gave him odd looks, and Yugi realized he had probably spoken to his invisible friend a little bit too loudly. Yugi found himself not caring about the stares at all.

Like Yugi had predicted, his steps guided him to the arcade. Usually he visited the place with Jounouchi, Anzu, and Honda, but today all of them were busy with something or other. He stopped at the door, locating a spare game and walking up to it. He felt the presence of his other self detach and settle next to him, filled with curiosity at the games that now surrounded them. Yugi realized this was the first time he spent time in the arcade and was actually aware of having another soul inside him.

"You want to play?" he asked, "You can try to beat the high score."

He glanced at the presence beside him and saw the faint, wavering ghost of a young man that could have almost been his twin. Almost, but not quite. Yugi's face was softer and he was still being called "adorable" by old ladies – much to his chagrin. The spirit was all angles and strangely exotic features and Yugi remembered at least one old lady calling him "a handsome young man" when the spirit had been in charge of Yugi's body. Yugi wasn't sure whether to feel flattered, envious or just plain freaked out by that compliment. Just how much different did the other people really see him when they switched places?

"I can try it," the spirit said out loud instead of speaking in Yugi's mind, "I have never played these kinds of games before, though. I've just watched you play."

It was probably the closest thing the spirit would ever get to admitting he wasn't quite equally comfortable with every game imaginable. Yugi was sure no one but him would ever hear the spirit admit anything like that.

"I'm sure you'll handle it just fine," Yugi said.

"We'll see," the Other Him replied, a gleeful smile crossing his features at the thought of a challenge.

Yugi let his other self take control, still not quite used to the feeling of being jerked from his body. It wasn't entirely unpleasant, just a bit weird. Like accidentally skipping a step in a stairway. His other self stretched his arms above his head, straightening from Yugi's meek slouch to his own confident stance. About ten minutes later the high score had been broken, and Yugi wasn't at all surprised.

"I knew it!" he said triumphantly.

The Other Him smirked.

"Do you want to try to best me?"

Yugi shook his head.

"I couldn't do that in a million years."

His other self looked at him strangely.

"You just think you can't."

"Trust me, that game is one of the hardest for me. Hey, try that one!"

Yugi didn't remember the last time he had been this carefree. It had probably been some time before Duelist Kingdom. There were no weirdos trying to steal from him or force him to play games for souls. There were no bullies or gangsters anywhere near them. There was no more fear of the dark soul in Yugi's mind. Said dark soul seemed to be having one of his better days as well. Yugi could sense more happiness radiating from his other self than he ever remembered sensing. Yugi knew it was a brief respite, something that might be broken soon. But he pushed that thought to the back of his mind like he usually did with pessimistic thoughts. He focused on the nice things, like the fact that when the spirit smiled now, there didn't seem to be quite as much cracks behind it as there had been before.

It was almost dinnertime when they started heading home. They had taken turns at playing, and now about half the machines bore Yugi's initials at the top of the high score list. Yugi felt a little bit guilty for getting the credit for the records the spirit had broken as well, but the spirit had pointed out that it had technically been Yugi playing all the time and added only half-jokingly that he himself didn't even have initials of his own anyway. Yugi had decided to drop the subject at that.

Yugi took control for the walk home. About halfway back to his house he realized he was doing his best to straighten his posture and trying and failing to mimic his other self's confident gait. He let his hand rest on the Puzzle, its weight even more reassuring than before.

_The cord is getting frayed._

"Oh, sorry!" Yugi withdrew his hand and noticed there indeed was a tear in the cord, in a place there hadn't been one before, "I'll have to fix it when we get home."

He definitely didn't want it to break.

They were passing a hardware store in comfortable silence when the spirit's attention was again fixed on something. Yugi stopped and looked at thin air questioningly.

"What? Did you see another hazardous belt?"

The spirit laughed.

_No. I think this is something both of us agree on._

When Yugi got back home, he replaced the old, woven cord of the Puzzle with a new, sturdy metal chain.

* * *

**Author's Note: ****HEY GUYS IS THERE A ONE-SHOT ABOUT THESE TWO YOU'D LIKE TO SEE ME WRITE?**

**Now that I got your attention, let me explain: While I do have ideas and themes I am going to explore with this series of stories (I wouldn't have started posting these as a series of one-shots if I didn't have, well, a series of one-shots in mind), I certainly wouldn't mind a few more ideas. I am usually not very comfortable writing down other people's ideas because I feel said people should have the right to develop their own idea the way they see it and get full credit for it. That's why you can think of this as... uh, challenging me. You can give me suggestions of themes or moments I should try to write about Yugi and the Pharaoh. The suggestion can be just a word or a few words, not a fully fleshed-out story idea (I'd prefer if it wasn't).**

**If your word, idea, theme or whatever suggestion you wish to send me inspires me and I manage to write something based on it, I will of course give you credit for the idea. Note that my weird mind might butcher whatever sweet images you may have had in your head while sending me your suggestion... While you can of course suggest whatever you want, there are a few things to keep in mind if you really, really want me to write it:**

**1. This is focused on the canon storyline. So I won't write one-shots with for example the Pharaoh suddenly having a separate body. Also, I try to keep these in a chronological order so anything set before this chapter probably won't make it.**

**2. Since these one-shots are manga-based, I'm not going write anything based on the Virtual World -arc or the Orichalcos -arc.**

**3. I won't write romance between any characters. It doesn't interest me and I suck at writing it. I ****_can_**** write platonic fluff, though :)**

**It would be nice to hear from you!**

**Notes about the actual chapter: Really hoping I can still keep the characters in character when they're getting more and more stable... This chapter more or less lighthearted to make up for the angst-fest of a chapter that is coming up. I had way too much trouble naming this one but I finally settled on ****_Chain_**** because the chain and the cord are the main symbols of this chapter (at least that's how I would analyse it).**

**It's a bit funny that in the anime the Pharaoh seems to always have the school jacket on even when Yugi doesn't, whereas in the manga the Pharaoh usually takes the jacket off whenever he's in charge of the body (especially if he gets ****_serious _****:P).**


	5. Rival

**Set after Duelist Kingdom.**

**Summary: To think there was a chance to encounter Seto Kaiba in almost normal circumstances.**

**This is based on the suggestions of both Yami E and passerby xD. They both wanted to see a meeting with Kaiba. I hope I managed to do at least some sort of justice to this awesome idea.**

* * *

**Rival**

The bus was late.

It might have been because of the recent earthquake that had been a bit higher on the Richter scale than what was usual for the region. According to the news it had damaged a few roads and cracked a couple dozen walls. Luckily it hadn't claimed any lives. Grandpa Mutou had been very frustrated about the incident nonetheless, mostly because thanks to it the latest shipment of Duel Monsters booster packs hadn't arrived yet. Even small delays were a big nuisance when one was running a small business.

Yugi looked at the clock at the bus stop for the sixth time in the last fifteen minutes. The Other Yugi had counted. He heard Yugi sigh and watched the young one's shoulders slump.

"The school starts in ten minutes," Yugi muttered, "I think I should just walk. I'll be late anyway now."

A few of the other students waiting at the bus stop seemed to have already had the same idea. There was still a bunch of irritated teenagers waiting there with them, but the bunch had started to scatter in the last few minutes. A cold breeze brushed through the street, making the people curl deeper into their jackets. Yugi adjusted his backpack and the spirit could sense the boy was getting cold as well.

_At least walking should keep you warmer_, he pointed out.

Yugi nodded silently instead of replying out loud to avoid weird stares. He started walking, the wind ruffling his spiky hair and tugging at his clothes. The spirit could almost feel it himself, even though he was in his own mind, protected from the elements. The wind picked up even more, and Yugi started looking close to miserable. The spirit hoped it wouldn't start raining.

_If you wish to take a break, I can take over._

Yugi looked up at the sky.

_I'm okay, _he said without speaking, _I can handle a bit of bad weather._

_I know that_, the spirit said, _I just think it's a bit unfair that I'm..._

He stopped talking when alarm bells went off in his head. That strange feeling when someone stepped a little too forcefully on his aura sent him instantly into protector mode. He looked behind Yugi just in time to see a flash of an out-of-control car coming round a corner.

_MOVE!_

"What?" Yugi's confused gasp had barely left the boy's lips when the spirit shoved him aside. He took over the body and moved it out of the way of the approaching danger.

There was a screech of brakes. The spirit felt something heavy grazing him, sending him off balance. His shoulder hit asphalt and he rolled, getting up to his knees. Not the most stylish evasion, but at least it had worked. A bruised shoulder was better than crushed bones. The car skidded to a halt behind him, narrowly missing a lamppost. The spirit stood, turning sharply and keeping his mind focused on fighting off possible threats. His eyes fell on the most likely threat, namely the car that now loomed in front of him, two tyres on the driveway and two on the pavement.

The car was expensive and big, but mostly in the way that didn't want to attract attention. Except for the dark-tinted windows. Those were basically the car-equivalent of wearing a hooded black cloak with the delusion that it was a good way to stay inconspicuous. The door by the driver's seat opened and out stepped a man in a dark, neat suit. The man walked around the car, inspecting it for possible damages and cursing quietly. The spirit adjusted Yugi's backpack so that it didn't put pressure on Yugi's injured shoulder and did his best to wipe off the dirt that now decorated his friend's jacket. He hissed when he realized the asphalt had broken the skin at the shoulder that had taken the brunt of the fall.

_Other Me_, Yugi's still a bit startled voice rang in his head, _Are you okay?_

_Good enough, _the spirit replied, _You should stay back, though, just in case._

_It was an accident. I don't think they tried to hit us._

Yugi was probably right. It was soon enough confirmed when one of the black windows opened just enough for a gruff voice to shout:

"Well? Is it bad? If it is, I'll seriously consider firing you and hiring someone who can actually look out for cracks in the road! And drive while he's at it!"

The spirit blinked, and he almost felt Yugi doing the same in his mind.

No way. It couldn't be.

"Kaiba?" the spirit said out loud.

The window was silent for a long moment, but then a very quiet curse sneaked through the slit between the bulletproof glass and the shiny metal.

The window opened even further. The CEO of the Kaiba Corporation regarded the spirit with obvious contempt, blue eyes sharp as knives.

"Mutou," Kaiba growled, looking clearly like he had hoped that the person his car had almost ran over had been someone else with Yugi's distinct, tricoloured hair, "It _is _you. This day couldn't get much worse."

"I can't say my day is that great either," the spirit said, "You almost ran over me."

Seto Kaiba narrowed his already narrowed eyes until they were mere slits under the mane of brown hair.

"And? Are you going to sue? If so, you should look at the idiot who was driving."

Kaiba cast a glare at the chauffeur, who was still busy inspecting the car.

"Good news, sir," the chauffeur looked up, "The car is still in top shape."

The man looked at the spirit, his friendly eyes lingering on the shoulder the spirit was clutching to stop the bleeding.

"Oh, man, I'm so sorry!" the man exclaimed, "Hey, are you all right?"

_It's fine_, said Yugi automatically.

"It's fine," the spirit forwarded the message, "I'm not hurt."

"But you are!" the chauffeur insisted, "Mr. Kaiba, we should probably take him to the hospital."

Kaiba looked at his driver like the man had just told Kaiba that he should donate his Duel Monsters collection to charity. The spirit tilted his head, not quite sure if the chauffeur's friendliness was genuine or just an attempt to avoid a lawsuit – which the spirit knew none of the Mutous would really go through with anyway.

"There's no need for that," the spirit said in a tone he hoped was appropriately diplomatic, "I'm sure this is nothing my school's nurse can't fix."

"Are you going to Domino High School?" the chauffeur guessed, blissfully ignorant to the "Shut the hell up!" -look Kaiba was giving him from the back seat.

The spirit nodded.

"So is my boss!" the chauffeur clapped his hands, "We could give you a ride there. You're bleeding quite badly. Would that be okay, Mr. Kaiba?"

At the last part the driver finally turned to look at Kaiba, and almost took a step back at the lethal glare Kaiba sent his way. The spirit wanted to decline, but he had a feeling this overly kind chauffeur wouldn't let him walk if there was a chance the man could somehow make up for his near manslaughter. And the spirit also had a feeling Kaiba was in an even more uncomfortable position. They had already attracted quite an audience, and having the CEO of Kaiba Corp. being involved in a hit-and-run incident would just be terrible publicity.

"I suppose it is," Kaiba said through gritted teeth, "As long as we get moving."

And so, in a bit of rather surreal awkwardness, the spirit found himself sitting on a leather car seat, facing Seto Kaiba. The teenage billionaire genius whom the spirit had bested and punished twice.

_Other Me? Do you want me to take over?_

The spirit didn't. Kaiba may not be the same obsessive bastard he had once been, but he was still, well, an obsessive bastard to a slightly lesser degree. Besides, Kaiba was clearly angry about the whole situation and didn't have his little brother with him to hold him back if he decided to suddenly lash out.

_You're being paranoid, _Yugi said, _Kaiba is a way better person than before._

_I wish I shared your optimism, _the spirit replied, _But I don't._

Although even he had to admit he might have been overreacting with the "lashing out" -part.

"You'd better not make this a habit, Mutou," Kaiba said sternly, "And by stepping into this car you agreed to forget this ever happened. I don't have enough time that I could waste it dealing with insurance companies."

The spirit didn't bother with an answer. He leaned his head against the window and watched the buildings that rolled by with what little speed was allowed in the city centre. He was glad the school wasn't that far away from where they had been picked up. The atmosphere in the car was filled with tension. The kind of tension that was generated between two people who knew each other but mostly in a negative light. Kaiba disliked Yugi – and by extension, the spirit, even though Kaiba didn't even know the spirit existed – because Yugi had defeated him more than once. Seto Kaiba did not like being defeated. And the spirit still remembered the time when Kaiba had been a kidnapping, nearly homicidal madman. Kaiba may have been reformed after that – the spirit had seen to it – but the young CEO was still far from pleasant.

_I wonder if Kaiba is okay. He went through a lot in Duelist Kingdom._

The spirit shrugged mentally at Yugi's wondering. Kaiba had indeed been put through more suffering than was necessary on that island. But hadn't everyone? To be honest, he would have preferred not talking to Kaiba, especially since Kaiba clearly didn't want to talk either. He decided to talk anyway, because Yugi wanted to know.

"Are you going back to school now?"

It was a random, casual question. Something to break the ice that was by now thicker than the polar ice caps. Kaiba didn't say anything, just shrugged his shoulders in a way that might have meant "I don't know", or "It's none of your business".

"How's your brother?" the spirit tried going for a different route.

"Mokuba is fine," Kaiba said in a clipped tone.

"Good," then, after a moment's thought, the spirit added, "He's a good kid."

Kaiba grunted.

"You should listen to him more often," the spirit said, studying Kaiba's face critically.

"What do _you_ care, Mutou?" Kaiba growled, his hands clenching into fists, "You know nothing about me, so don't start telling me how to live my life!"

But the spirit did know Kaiba. He had played Shadow Games with him. One Shadow Game was enough to lay the opponent's soul bare in front of him. One Game was enough to teach him more about a person than they ever would have liked him to know. Kaiba had lost to him not just once, but twice. Twice this teenager had been punished by the spirit's hand, and twice Kaiba had pulled himself through the punishment in one way or another. Kaiba was strong, perhaps too strong for his own good. But he was also broken. He had been broken and then put back together in a twisted way long before Yugi or the spirit had even met him.

"Right," the spirit said out loud, "I suppose I don't know you. And you don't know me."

Kaiba's eyes narrowed.

_Other Me! What are you doing?_

_Relax, Partner. I'm being friendly. Doesn't it look like that?_

_Um... not really._

"You're Yugi Mutou," Kaiba huffed, "A gamer who is a snivelling wimp in one second, and all overblown bravado in the next."

It was the spirit's turn to narrow his eyes. Kaiba glanced at the window separating them from the driver's seat and leaned forward, speaking in a low, threatening voice:

"I don't exactly know what your deal is, but I know enough to _not like you._"

Because Kaiba didn't like not understanding something. Kaiba was smart enough to notice everything wasn't right with the sweet and the next moment not-so-sweet Yugi Mutou, but Kaiba didn't have enough information – or belief in magic – to figure out what exactly the reason behind it all was.

"You know," the spirit said slowly, "A lot of people might be afraid of you. Or possibly hate you for reasons that may or may not be justified. I don't."

Well, Yugi didn't, mostly. But he had to play Yugi's part in this situation, didn't he? And to be fair, he also saw something redeemable about Seto Kaiba.

If the spirit himself could be redeemed like this, then Kaiba should also be redeemed without too many problems, if the CEO just wanted to make an effort. And the spirit had a feeling Kaiba would, at least at some point in his life.

"Oh, really?" said Kaiba, "Well, thanks. I _definitely_ need compliments from _you_."

The spirit ignored the blatant sarcasm and smiled. It wasn't quite a friendly smile, but it wasn't threatening either.

"You are most welcome."

Kaiba would at some point make an effort. He would make an effort because there was at least one person in his life he cared about enough to try. In many ways, Kaiba and the spirit were a lot alike.

Perhaps that was one reason why the spirit had been so merciful with Kaiba. Or maybe he had seen the potential to change from the beginning. It all seemed so far away now; it was hard to remember what his reasoning had been. Someone had broken and reshaped Kaiba a long time ago. The spirit had known it had required another breaking for Kaiba to be fixed. And maybe even that wasn't enough. It was up to Kaiba, in the end.

The car rolled to a stop about a block from the school.

"Here we are, sir!" the chauffeur announced.

Kaiba nodded grimly and cast the driver a look that indicated that the man may have to start looking for a new job before the day was over. Or maybe not. Maybe Kaiba would reconsider sometime during the day.

The spirit opened the door at his side and thanked the driver for the trouble. He slung Yugi's school bag over his good shoulder and glanced over at Kaiba, who had made no move to step out of the car. He probably wouldn't walk out before the spirit was already inside the school building.

"Well, it's nice to see you are getting better," the spirit said, "Take good care of your brother."

He turned and headed towards the school, giving Yugi control after making the boy promise he would go straight to the nurse's office to get his shoulder checked. He could feel Kaiba's glare at the back of his neck all the way until they rounded a corner to the school yard.

* * *

**Author's Note: I'M STILL OPEN FOR SUGGESTIONS AND IDEAS FOR ONE-SHOTS!**

**Thank you to those who have already sent me some very nice ideas. So far I'm pretty thrilled with all of them and I want to write something about them all! Let's hope I have time and energy to do that!Thank you all who reviewed just to comment as well! You've been very kind.**

**About this chapter: Have you ever had a sort of conversation with someone that isn't really a conversation? You know, when you are speaking and the other is speaking and you are responding to what the other is saying but you know you're not really talking? I have those moments fairly often and I figured something like that might happen with Kaiba and the Pharaoh at least at this point of the timeline. I had to figure out some way to get them into a car because a car is a small, hard-to-escape place that at least in my opinion makes all silences immediately awkward if you aren't sharing the car with good friends.**

**This sort of doesn't directly address Yugi and the Pharaoh's characters or friendship and it's a bit more Kaiba -centered, so I tried to put a lot of stuff between the lines and tried to make the spirit reflect himself and Yugi through analysing Kaiba's character. Meh. I don't know if I succeeded or not.**


	6. Maze

**This is technically not based on anyone's suggestion, since I had it written before this was suggested. I still want to give credit to someusername0 for suggesting this, because I was actually very close to scrapping this one-shot because I didn't like how it turned out. Then someusername0 suggested this and I figured I could try to make this chapter not suck. I do like this one much more than I liked the first draft... I hope it really isn't that terrible anymore...**

**Summary: When your friend lets you into their mind and soul, you know you've crossed over to true friendship.**

* * *

**Maze**

It had started because Yugi had had trouble falling asleep. His other self had finally got tired of Yugi just staring at the ceiling and suggested Yugi should try meditating. "Meditating" didn't quite mean the same thing to the spirit than it did to normal people. While to some it might have indeed meant a trip to one's own mind, Yugi didn't think it was ever quite as literal as it was for the spirit. It turned out that closing his eyes and concentrating with the spirit's guidance actually whisked Yugi away from his own bedroom and into the room that existed in his mind.

Yugi's soul room wasn't too different from his real one. The biggest difference – if you could call it that – was that it had much more toys and games. Some, Yugi noted, were things he had always wanted but had never got. And some were things he had never wanted but had got nevertheless. The air in the room smelled strange, but not unpleasant. Yugi had at one point tried to figure it out, but all he had got out of it was that it smelled like happiness mixed with a bit of childhood trauma. For some reason identifying those as scents wasn't all that absurd in one's soul.

Yugi stood up from the bed he had been sitting on, his bare feet hitting the brightly coloured floor and not really feeling it. He quickly made his way around the toys strewn on the floor and yanked open the door leading out of his room.

"Other Me?" he called into the corridor that connected their minds, "Was this supposed to happen?"

_It made your body sleep, didn't it?_

Well, that was true. Yugi had retreated so far into his mind that he could sense his tired body finally settling to sleep without his wandering thoughts bothering it. He would have to remember this if he had trouble sleeping again in the future.

_However_, the spirit continued, _Your mind is still wide awake. You should try letting it rest too._

The spirit appeared into the corridor, literally. He just seemed to walk out of thin air and stood in front of Yugi, casual as if walking around in one's mind and teleporting were the most normal things in the world. Well, maybe they were for the spirit, compared to everything else.

"I'm not sleepy at all," Yugi said, leaning his head against the door frame of his soul, "How _can _I even sleep in my own mind?"

The spirit tilted his head, glancing over Yugi's shoulder into Yugi's room, "You don't actually sleep here," he corrected, "But you _can_ rest."

"I guess so..." Yugi sighed, looking back at his room and then at the spirit, "I think I need something to focus on, though. Do you want to talk? Do you want to come in?"

The Other Him stiffened, suddenly looking very surprised and uncertain. It was weird to see the normally so confident spirit like that. Yugi figured the mind's room was supposed to be very private, not something you just invited friends over into. But they already shared minds, didn't they? It wasn't such a big deal, really.

"Come on!" Yugi said cheerfully, "I'm inviting you."

The spirit's uncertainty slowly melted into amusement, and Yugi stepped aside to let his friend in. The spirit halted at the door, looking around in the brightly lit room, blinking like he was seeing light for the first time. Yugi closed the door behind him, suddenly feeling a bit nervous, much like the way he always felt when having friends over for the first time in the physical world. He supposed it hadn't happened enough times for him to get used to it.

The spirit studied the room with almost unnerving vigilance. He slowly and carefully stepped over and around the games and toys on the floor and studied a bookshelf that was filled with framed photographs. Yugi knew the pictures were of his dearest memories even without looking at them. He was almost surprised to notice how well he knew his own mind even thought he hadn't visited it like this that many times. He supposed being relatively alone throughout his childhood had given him a lot of time to think about things, to get to know himself a little better. Yugi watched as the spirit brought his hand up, stopping it close to one of the photos, hesitant to actually touch anything. Yugi saw the picture had all of his friends, captured in one of those photos that seemed like a total failure in the technical side of things but that also somehow managed to reflect the personality of everyone in the picture. The spirit was in it as well, smiling confidently at the camera that didn't actually exist, because the photograph was really nothing more than a reflection in Yugi's soul.

"I wish I had a picture like that for real," Yugi said, "Maybe we should try getting one. I wonder if there's a way to get you to show up on camera."

The spirit smiled fondly, again almost touching the picture frame before withdrawing his hand.

"It would certainly make for an interesting afternoon."

His eyes strayed to the corner where Yugi's painful memories lurked. They were mostly hidden away, but they were still there. Yugi hadn't even realized how many of them he had gathered in his young life. The spirit's fond expression darkened.

"What's your soul like?" Yugi asked quickly to give the spirit something else to think about than past pain, "I'm sure it's much more interesting than mine."

"Interesting?" the spirit crossed his arms, "I guess you could say that. But yours is definitely more pleasant."

"Can I visit your room?" Yugi asked even without really thinking about it.

The spirit raised a brow, and Yugi realized a bit too late it was extremely intrusive to ask someone for a permission to rummage through their mind. He must have blushed out of shame, even though he couldn't really feel it.

"Sorry," he muttered, "That wasn't very nice."

"Oh, I don't mind," the spirit said lightly, "But my mind isn't exactly a friendly place. Besides, you were supposed to be resting."

He thought about it for a moment.

"But since you invited me into your mind, I suppose it's only fair I'll let you know more about me. As long as you stay close and don't wander off on your own."

"Deal!" Yugi said, "Wait, 'wander off'?"

The spirit smirked.

"You'll see."

And that Yugi did. His other self's soul room was a maze. An impossible one. Yugi could see stairways and doors, walls and floors that were put together with no rhyme or reason. Yugi remembered once having a book of illusions with a lot of drawings depicting impossible architecture drawn to mess with the human eye and mind. This room was like all those pictures thrown together and somehow made three-dimensional with no regard to the fact that the pictures only worked in two dimensions.

Yugi stared at it all, not really sure if to be enchanted or in awe.

"Is this all your mind?" he asked in a hushed voice.

The spirit shrugged his shoulders.

"Yes, and no. My true room is in here somewhere. The rest is here to keep intruders out."

"Do you know where your true room is?"

The spirit didn't answer. Yugi wasn't sure if it was because his other self didn't have an answer or because the answer was too painful. He wanted to ask more questions, but the spirit's mind was something that seemed to be meant to stay a mystery. It was frightening.

"Stay close," the spirit advised, "You are my guest, so the traps shouldn't bother you. But you should still be on your guard."

"You have many traps in here?"

"More than I can keep track of," the spirit smiled before getting serious again, "That's why I don't want you wandering here on your own. It's far too dangerous."

Yugi shivered from some strange mock cold that travelled through the room. It wasn't cold as in the absence of heat. It was just... well, cold as in what you felt inside when you could sense that something had just gone incredibly wrong. But it wasn't all bad either; just like how in Yugi's mind there lingered bad memories, his other self's mind felt like it housed more than one spark of happiness in the midst of confusion.

The spirit put his hand on Yugi's shoulder as if to make sure Yugi didn't stray from the path. The touch wasn't really a touch. It was more like imagining what a hand on a shoulder felt like. They walked further into the labyrinth, and the network of stairways criss-crossing sideways and upside down above his head made Yugi almost feel dizzy. He took in the ancient stonework and the hieroglyphs that decorated the walls. The place was a tomb. The tomb of an ancient king. Some of the carvings depicted people. Their faces had eroded to blanks.

"What's behind all the doors?" Yugi asked when they passed by yet another imposing metal door the place was full of.

"Some are connected to each other," the spirit said, "Some lead to new rooms. Sometimes they lead to different places depending on which side you open them from."

The spirit cautiously tried one of the doors to demonstrate his point. It opened slowly but seemed much more weightless than should have been possible. Yugi peered into the darkness of the room, noting the floor was too dark to be seen. A second later he realized the room had no floor to begin with.

"This room is missing its floor. Is it one of the traps?"

"A missing floor?" the spirit leaned in through the doorway with sudden interest, "I could swear there was one. Sometimes I almost think I have it all down. Then I realize I... don't."

It wasn't the first time during his time knowing the spirit that Yugi started feeling sorry for the lost soul he shared a body with.

"Do you ever get lonely in here?" Yugi asked.

"Why would I?" the spirit looked almost genuinely confused. Almost, "I am always with _you_, aren't I?"

"It's just..." Yugi struggled to find the words, "This place feels so... I mean... it's just... something that doesn't want to be understood. I... that sounded rude, didn't it?"

The spirit's eyes lit up. Yugi didn't quite know what to make of it.

"Don't worry about it," the spirit said, "It feels like that to me too sometimes. But it's still my room. I'm quite comfortable here."

The spirit absently brushed his long fingers across the nearest faceless carving on the wall.

"Sometimes I think they are people I once knew," he said quietly, so quietly that Yugi wasn't certain if the spirit had said it out loud or in his mind.

"They look Egyptian," Yugi said, "That's where the Puzzle is from. Maybe you are too, somehow."

"Maybe," the spirit murmured, "It would make sense, wouldn't it? Maybe one day we will know."

There was a tinge of sadness in the spirit's voice.

"Are you okay?" Yugi asked.

The spirit looked back at Yugi, for a moment lost somewhere in the past that wasn't there.

"Yes, I am fine. You, on the other hand, should be sleeping."

"What? Already?" Yugi protested, "I'm fine!"

"Your mind is exhausted," the spirit pointed towards a corridor that probably led out, "I'll take you back."

Yugi sighed. His other self could be so overprotective.

"What about you, then?"

"Oh, I will get my rest as well," the spirit smiled, "But first, there is a missing floor I need to locate."

* * *

**Author's Note (or a continuation of one since there was a sort of note in the beginning already): Thank you guys for being so nice to me! And thank you for the ideas! I'll be open for suggestions all the way until I finish this series. The next chapter will be the angsty one I already mentioned in the author's notes of chapter 4. Just... thought I'd let you know.**

**Responses to guest reviews:**

**Yami E: I'm a pretty fast writer when the inspiration hits, I guess. Nice to know you liked the chapter! Yeah, I'm pretty sure the driver will be fired too, sadly.**

**hi: Thanks! Yes, I'll update. No, no yaoi :)**

**passerby xD: Oh, thank you so much! When you said "hope you wouldn't change writing styles", do you mean you've seen some changes in my writing style you don't like or that you just don't wish I would change it in the future? Or something else? Anyway, I'll try my best to keep it consistent.**


	7. Wish

**Set after D.D.D. and references it quite a bit. In the anime the corresponding scene would be the duel in the warehouse. I wrote this chapter after I wrote ****_Monologue,_**** so this has been sitting around for a while. It seems I'm not the only one thinking about this, seeing how Aqua Girl 007 also suggested this.**

**The conversation between Yugi and the spirit at the end of this fic is taken from the manga (with slight artistic license).**

**Summary: He was supposed to protect Yugi, but their roles were reversed in the worst possible time. The spirit watches over Yugi in the hospital after a fire almost claims his young friend's life.**

* * *

**Wish**

The hospital room was uncomfortably cold and sterile. Not that he really felt the cold. He was merely a wisp in the air, an invisible boy at the edge of Yugi's bed. The pyramid-shaped Puzzle on the bedside table was the only physical proof of his presence. And most people didn't have enough information to connect the dots between the Puzzle and the feeling of being watched the people staying longer in the room sometimes got. That was good. At least he didn't have to follow the "Visiting Hours", which were the only times Yugi's other friends and family were allowed to be there. That was about the only thing he could at the moment list as an advantage of not having a corporeal form.

Yugi shivered, drawing the spirit's attention. The boy had at some point kicked off the covers. At least it was a sign that Yugi hadn't slipped back into unconsciousness. He was just asleep. Knowing that didn't do much to comfort the spirit, and he wished more than anything that he _wasn't _intangible, that he could grab the covers and tuck Yugi back in. Catching a cold was the last thing Yugi needed while recovering from smoke inhalation and burns.

Burns caused by Yugi's wish to see him again. To protect him.

In that one terrible second, when Mr. Otogi had managed to _shatter _him, his and Yugi's roles had been reversed. Before, he had been the protector. But then he had been flung back into the darkness, too quickly and without control. He had been broken into pieces along with the Puzzle, screaming when the world had faded from around him. He had screamed even more when he had been dragged back into the light. When Yugi had called for him again, putting the Puzzle back together with determination mixed with panic, wishing for nothing more than the chance to see his other self again. The first thing he had realized when coming back was that the room Yugi and the Puzzle were in was on fire.

The spirit didn't believe panicking was ever a good solution to anything. The more hectic and dangerous the situation, the calmer one had to be to properly take care of it. But in that burning room he had gone far closer to panic than he deemed reasonable. He didn't believe he had ever screamed that much. Not even in whatever life he had led before he had been sealed. He had shouted his metaphorical lungs out, tried to command Yugi to leave him and save himself, even when the Puzzle had been way too unfinished for him to channel anything to the outside world. At some points he had let his rage for Mr. Otogi take over, and he had hurled all kinds of curses at the man, who wasn't even in the same room any longer. In retrospect he really hoped Yugi hadn't heard _those._ Even though their vocabulary was pretty much shared, the spirit had much fewer inhibitions and much more imagination when it came to swearing. He had also picked up some very good insults during the times he had gone around challenging bullies and gangsters. Most of them were something the spirit had firmly decided _not _to teach his friend.

He stared into the emptiness and listened to the background noises of the hospital. Steady beeping. Soft footsteps of the nurses' plastic shoes. An occasional scream when someone a few rooms from them cried out in the throes of some nightmare. Yugi's mostly steady breathing that had only a couple of days ago been so ragged that it had sounded bad even through an oxygen mask.

The first night had been the worst. The spirit had stared at Yugi's struggling form unblinkingly throughout the night because he had feared that Yugi would drift out of this world in his sleep. He had ignored his rational side that had told him that he would definitely know even without looking if Yugi really died. When Yugi had opened his eyes in the morning, an enormous weight had suddenly left the spirit's insubstantial shoulders and he had been able to breathe easier at last. Well, he would have, had he had any need to breathe.

Yugi's hands had the worst burns. They had been damaged from handling the heated metal of the Puzzle. It pained the spirit to see such marks. He should have never let it happen. He should have fought more than he had. The only real hit he had managed to get in had been his desperate lashing out at Mr. Otogi when the man had tried to solve the Puzzle himself. And _that _attack had caused the fire in the first place.

It pained the spirit to know that in the end, despite all the power he wielded, he could be so easily detained. If the Puzzle was too far away from Yugi, he was almost powerless.

Yugi shifted, turning onto his side and curling up. Bandaged hands reached out blindly for the covers.

"On your left," the spirit said quietly, speaking more with his mind than out loud.

Yugi moved his hand to the left, pulling the covers up to his chin and sinking back into deeper sleep. A smile lifted the corners of Yugi's mouth, and the spirit was glad to know that at least the boy wasn't having a nightmare. All in all, Yugi was doing great, considering he had almost died back in that game shop.

That thought always made the spirit feel horribly empty.

_He could have died._

If their friends hadn't come for them, if Jounouchi hadn't carried them out, Yugi would have...

He didn't want to think about it, but he had to.

Yugi had been in mortal peril before this, sure. The spirit had caused many of those dangers himself back when he had been much more eager to bet his own life in a game. But only now did it really sink in.

_He would have died for me._

If Yugi had died, then the spirit's life – or existence, more like – would have ended as well.

Everything he had, everything he _was_, had come from Yugi.

His existence, his freedom, his friends, his identity... everything. Without Yugi, he would still be trapped in the pieces of an ancient artefact, lost and nameless and without humanity. Now, even though he was still quite nameless and more than a little lost, he could honestly say that he had a purpose. He had people he cared about.

He owed Yugi so much, yet Yugi would just say that there were no debts between friends – unless one was Jounouchi, in which case one owed Yugi around twenty burgers for all the friendly bets one had lost. And in many ways Yugi was right; all the times the spirit had taken over to protect Yugi had never really been because he had owed the boy something. It had been simple caring. Even back when he had been too messed up to understand the ethical issues that arose from driving bullies insane, he had still cared.

Yugi moved again. This time his face contorted in discomfort. The spirit could sense the beginnings of a nightmare. Great. He shouldn't have thought about it before. Now he had jinxed it, so to speak.

He reached out, his hand hovering over his partner's forehead. He hesitated, fearing his ghostly pseudo-touch would just hurt and frighten the sleeping boy instead of comforting like it was supposed to. Slowly, carefully, he brushed his fingers through Yugi's multicoloured hair.

"You're safe now," he murmured, "Just sleep, little one."

Yugi sighed, calming down as if just the confirmation that the spirit really was there made everything better. The spirit was glad Yugi thought so, even if he himself couldn't agree with it. He thought back to when Yugi had woken up in the hospital for the first time after the fire. The first thing Yugi had done was to ask about his friends and the Puzzle. The moment Yugi had spotted the pyramid on the bedside table, he had snatched it and held it close, frantically asking if the spirit was all right. When the spirit had spoken through their link, Yugi had sighed in such relief one might have thought all of Yugi's problems had been solved in that second. And when the nurses and their visitors had left, Yugi had sought the spirit out in the corridor between their soul rooms and immediately launched himself at the spirit, hugging like he never wanted to let go. The spirit didn't remember ever being hugged before that, and he supposed even this one wasn't quite what a hug was supposed to feel like. He blamed the hollowness of it on the fact that they were nothing but spirits in the soul rooms and didn't really have nerve endings to experience physical comfort with. He had held Yugi close, nevertheless, wanting to shield his young friend from everything the world might still throw at them, knowing all the while that his spirit form was useless as a shield.

_He would have died for me._

And he could never even try to do the same. Because he had already died, a long time ago in Egypt.

That was almost everything he knew about his past life.

And when he sat beside the sleeping Yugi, who settled back into more peaceful slumber, he found himself not even caring about his past. Now wasn't the time for it, no matter how much it called for him, whispered to him that it would eventually lead him back. Back to Egypt. Then... somewhere. He didn't know exactly where.

On the day when Yugi would be let out of the hospital, he was still sporting band-aids and some of the angriest burns hadn't faded yet. His hands would forever bear marks from the fire. Yugi didn't seem to mind. He was cheerful and excited to get out. It wasn't the first nor the last time the spirit had to stop to both wonder and admire Yugi's strength. It wasn't obvious like that of Jounouchi or that of the spirit. It wasn't brawn or confidence or magic. It was the will to keep on believing things would be better, that _people_ would be better, even when the world did its best showing its ugliest possible side to them.

But even that wasn't enough to shield Yugi in the worst moments. Like just before their friends arrived, when Yugi became strangely melancholic and asked the spirit a question he had asked before:

"Who are you?"

This time, however, the spirit didn't have an answer.

Yugi asked about the memories sealed away with the Millennium Items. About the Pharaoh the spirit might have once been.

"My name, my past..." the spirit shook his head, "I don't remember any of it."

He forced a smile on his face.

"But I do know this: I am here because you solved the Millennium Puzzle. As long as you have it, I'll be here."

Yugi sniffed.

"Let's talk about something else."

"In the Valley of the Kings," the spirit went on, ignoring his partner's plea, "there is a sarcophagus that is meant hold the Puzzle and the other six Items. There..."

"Stop! I don't want to talk about this!"

And the spirit realized that Yugi was just as scared of losing his other self as he was. And they both knew that the spirit would one day have to go to Egypt and possibly beyond. One day, he would have to leave them all.

Yugi was crying now. The spirit hated seeing Yugi cry, especially if it was because of him. Whenever it happened, he always counted it as a failure on his part. He was supposed to protect Yugi, not hurt him more.

He didn't consider himself to be very good in the art of comforting others. He could motivate and inspire others easily, but he was too blunt, too honest for a meaningless "There, there. It will be alright". This time, however, he knew being honest wouldn't hurt Yugi nearly as much as it would hurt _him_, so he went with that:

"I want to be with you, forever."

Yugi's tears weren't quite so bitter then. But the spirit was hurting. He was hurting because he knew it was a wish that would ultimately not come true.

* * *

**Author's Note: Well, I caught a cold. That sucks. But I managed to make the final edits to this and post it. I quite like this, even though it turned out just a bit angstier than I thought (it was meant to be angsty, yes, but maybe not quite this much). I blame the fact that I was listening to the song ****_Ilona_** **by the Finnish band ****_Apulanta_**** over and over while I was writing this.****I needed something to get me in the mood for writing about inevitable loss, and ****_Ilona _****(which is a song about coping with the suicide of a loved one) works for me perfectly in that regard... maybe a bit too well but anyway, I'm happy how this turned out. And I don't say that often.**

**Thank you for your support, guys!**


	8. Date

**Based on the suggestions of Aqua girl 007, passerby XD, and Scaehime, who all wanted to see me write something about the "date" with Anzu and the spirit. Well, I did say I wanted a challenge...**

**Summary: Sometimes being a friend is about doing something you don't like just to make the other feel better.**

**WARNINGS: Light Peachshipping (yes, I know I told you I don't write romance but I do acknowledge the official pairings if they come up...)**

* * *

**Date**

The Other Yugi was depressed.

Yugi knew it. He felt it as easily as he would have if the depression had been his own. It was nothing new, really. His other self had always had more than a few burdens to carry. Usually he managed through it all just fine. The spirit was just too strong to be brought down by, well, almost anything. But now it seemed he had reached the limit and had actually settled for very continuous quiet brooding in his soul room. Yugi was getting worried about his friend. Not to mention how much it pained him to know his other self was feeling so down.

Yugi knew it was because of the memories. The lack of past had bothered the spirit for a long time, but now that they actually had a couple of answers instead of nothing, it seemed even worse. All they knew now was that the soul the Millennium Puzzle housed had once belonged to a great Pharaoh. It was one of those things one didn't really expect, but that made an odd amount of sense when thought about in retrospect. Even without memory, Yugi's other self acted so naturally regal that it was very easy to imagine he had once ruled one of the greatest cultures that had ever existed. It was almost unsettling, really. Yugi, the insignificant, timid little Yugi Mutou, was a host to an ancient god-king. A depressed ancient god-king.

Yugi had formulated a plan to cheer his friend up. It wasn't anything grand. It wasn't a miraculous recovery of lost times; it was mostly just a way to get the Other Him thinking of something else or at least enjoying himself outside of games. It wasn't much, but it was something. Yugi would at least have to try.

The hardest part was to keep his other self from finding out about it beforehand. Yugi had waited patiently for the spirit to fall into his resting state and then done his best shielding his thoughts and the outside world from him. Luckily the spirit usually rested while Yugi was at school, so he had ample time to ask Anzu to be a part of his plan. She had been a bit unsure about it, but she had agreed to take Yugi's other self out to do something fun. Because in Yugi's opinion, no one in the world was better at cheering others up while still understanding the value of listening than Anzu Mazaki. Yugi had assured her she didn't have to think of it as a date. It would be more like therapy. He wasn't sure if that reassurance was more for himself or for Anzu.

It was rather hard to avoid thinking about something on purpose. Even harder was not to think about not thinking it. Yugi spent the rest of the day unusually silent, doing all sorts of mundane chores, helping Grandpa at the shop and then later helping Mother at home. It had kept him busy enough to keep his other self in the dark even after said spirit had woken up. Yugi almost felt bad for shielding his thoughts so much. Nowadays he and his other self barely had any secrets between each other. But this was supposed to be a surprise. So it was totally justified, right? And besides, Yugi would only have to keep this up until the next day. He could do it.

The Other Him didn't catch on until the next morning. Yugi was standing in front of the mirror in his room, almost everything he had found in his wardrobe strewn on his bed. After some contemplation he had settled for a sleeveless black shirt, a whole bunch of jewellery and wristbands and his favourite pair of black leather trousers. He knew they looked a bit silly on him, but he also knew that when the Other Him was wearing them, the Other Him drew _looks_. The kind of looks that were flattering, exciting, confusing and scary at the same time. In Yugi's opinion, at least. His other self didn't seem to even notice them, though.

Usually Yugi wasn't all that concerned about his looks, but today he would be going out with Anzu. Well, the Other Him would be, anyway. And it wasn't a date; it was therapy. But still, it would be just polite to dress nicely for this, right? Yugi frowned at his reflection and put one more chain around his wrist. Or was it too much? Should he leave some out? Why was this so hard all of a sudden?

_Why are you up so early?_

Yugi looked over his shoulder to see his other self standing behind him. Yugi greeted him with a smile.

"I asked Anzu out," he declared.

His other self's face brightened.

_Go for it, Partner!_

Yugi turned back to his mirror. His other self wasn't reflected on it.

"Actually," Yugi said, managing an almost devious smile that didn't suit him at all, "It's not me who's going."

He could sense his other self's confusion for that one moment it took for realization to sink in.

"What?" the spirit said out loud, "You want _me _to go out with her? You are kidding, right?"

"Don't you like her?" Yugi asked innocently.

"She is a great friend," the spirit said without missing a beat, "But that isn't the point. _I'm _not the one who fantasizes about her."

Yugi blushed furiously at that comment.

"Be quiet, Other Me!"

The Other Him did probably have a reason to be confused. How many people in the world would voluntarily ask a girl he has had a crush on since childhood to go out with another guy? Another guy the girl happened to have a crush on, no less? Yugi wasn't stupid; he knew Anzu had feelings for his other self. The only thing that kept the whole situation from turning into a very strange love-triangle was the fact that the Pharaoh didn't seem to have any romantic interest towards anyone.

"I just want to cheer you up," Yugi said, picking up one more armband and then deciding against wearing it, "You don't have to think about it as a real date if you don't want to."

The spirit stared for along moment before running a hand through his hair and shaking his head.

"You _are _kidding, aren't you? Good one, Partner. You almost got me."

His other self had to know Yugi wasn't kidding. Maybe he was in some weird denial. Yugi definitely needed to get the spirit out to socialize. He cast one last look to the mirror before deciding he was ready enough.

Anzu was waiting at Domino Station, just like they had agreed. She looked even cuter than usual, and that was saying something. Sunlight made her brown hair shimmer, and the miniskirt she was wearing showed off her long, gorgeous legs _very _nicely, and...

_Partner, keep your hormones in check for now._

Yugi blushed again. Easy for the Other Him to say. Spirits didn't _have _hormones. Yugi decided not to answer. He was too distracted to be winning any verbal spars with the voice in his head today anyway. Instead, he figured it was high time to switch places with said voice in his head. He concentrated as hard as he could, finding his other self lingering near the doorway to his soul. Yugi left his body, reached for his other soul and gave him a figurative push, hoping it would be enough.

It was.

His other self stumbled into control, Yugi's body taking a few unsteady steps before stopping.

_Yugi! You can't be serious! Get back here!_

"Yugi" instead of "Partner". The Other Him was definitely angry. Yugi quickly barricaded himself into his own mind's room, out of his other self's reach.

_No! _Yugi thought stubbornly, _I don't want to see you so depressed anymore!_

His other self was quiet. Yugi closed his eyes and saw the surroundings of his body again. His other self had moved a few steps towards Anzu, but had stopped again after that.

_I'm fine,_ the spirit said,_ You don't need to do this._

_Maybe not, _Yugi admitted, _but I want to._

His answer was another long silence. A silence during which Anzu turned and saw them. Her eyes widened, and the Other Yugi had to turn his attention to her.

"Yo," he said without any trace of uncertainty.

"Um... hi," said Anzu.

Yugi saw her blushing. She was probably just as nervous as Yugi secretly was. Now that his other self had evidently recovered from his surprise, he was the calmest of them all. Yugi did his best to suppress a pang of jealousy when Anzu gave his other self one of the _looks _his other self seemed to naturally attract.

"So, what do you want to do?" the spirit asked when Anzu didn't start listing plans for their date right away.

"Well..." Anzu looked at her feet, "I guess we could start by getting some tea?"

"Sure," the Other Yugi said, falling to step next to Anzu when she started leading him forward.

Yugi watched from his mental hiding place, knowing he should leave his other self and Anzu be. But he couldn't help staying aware of the outside world for just a little longer. Just to make sure his other self would really start cheering up.

_Partner?_

Yugi opened his eyes, seeing the bright walls of his soul room.

_Yes? _he asked tentatively.

_Are you going to spy on us the whole time?_

_No! I wasn't! _Yugi hoped he didn't sound too defensive.

_Don't worry_, there was more than a little amusement in his other self's voice,_ I know you saw her first._

Yugi shut their connection down the best he could. He camped out onto the floor of his soul room, into the midst of toys and games. Were the toys just symbolizing his apparent innocence or were they also a sign of childishness he hadn't been able to shake off? No wonder Anzu liked the more mature, confident Pharaoh better.

_Okay, shut up, jealousy! I asked for this!_

He almost expected to hear an actual answer in his mind. All he heard was the strange almost-silence of his soul room that echoed with feelings and memories.

When the day was over, the Other Yugi seemed a bit happier. Yugi supposed it would have been better if the day hadn't also just shoved a lot of talk about destiny and another card game tournament their way. Still, it could have been worse. At least it seemed hanging out with Anzu had done some good to the spirit.

Or then it was just that the spirit was so focused on oncoming games that he had forgotten to sulk.

"We don't have much time before it starts," the spirit mentioned when Yugi was going to bed, "We should probably go over our deck at least one more time before..."

"Yeah, we should," Yugi agreed absently, "But not today. I'm way too tired, and I have school tomorrow."

"Right..." the spirit gave Yugi one of his unnervingly calculating looks, "Can I ask you something, Partner?"

Yugi blinked.

"Of course. Is it about the tournament?"

The spirit shook his head.

"When you asked Anzu to take me out... you didn't like it."

"I..." Yugi sighed, "No."

There really was no point trying to lie to his other self. He would know.

"Then why did you do it?" the spirit asked.

"I told you: you needed cheering up. It worked, didn't it?"

The spirit smiled.

"Yes, it did. Thank you."

"Then it was worth it."

The Other Yugi chuckled. It was the closest thing to a laugh Yugi had heard out of him in days.

"You are unbelievable," he crossed his arms, "But you do know what this means, right?"

"What?"

"Now you have to really ask Anzu out. With _you_. It's only fair."

Yugi couldn't help a smile forming on his face.

"I'll think about it."

"You do that," the spirit's expression softened, "Good night, Partner."

"Good night."

The spirit faded out of sight, returning to his own mind. Yugi closed his eyes and concentrated. The Other Him didn't go back to brooding.

Mission accomplished.

* * *

**Author's Note: I sincerely apologize for the level of terrible this chapter was. And for the delay with it also. I'm going to two schools at once and I have an exam coming up. And this was a very difficult chapter to write anyway. I don't think you should be expecting very frequent updates in November either because I'll be doing NaNoWriMo, which is kinda taking up most of my writing time. After November I'll be back, though. I hope.**

**Feel free to message me/review, though. I'll be around.**

**Oh, right! Youngbountygirl pointed out to me that the Monster Fighter -guy whom I mentioned in chapter 2 and whose possible death I hinted at but really left the final fate open actually did show up in Battle City in the manga and he didn't seem to even have much permanent psychological trauma! I totally didn't make that connection until she pointed it out! So yeah, the guy did survive. Good for him!**

**Response to Yami E: Thanks! Yeah, what little I know from how it went in the anime, it was very different. In the manga, Bandit Keith was dead at this point. Sigh... what a loss... for America!**


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